Dreams Of A Nightmare
by LeeLee Lollipop
Summary: Merlin hit the floor, his eyes never leaving Arthur's as his last breath left his body. WARNING: CHARACTER DEATH rated M 'cause I'm paranoid


Merlin watched anxiously as Arthur paced in his chambers.

"Arthur, I -"

His apology trailed off as Arthur turned to glare at him.

"Is it true?"

Merlin stayed silent. There would be no more lies.

"Morgana tells me you're a sorcerer, Merlin. Is it true?"

Merlin looked at Arthur sadly. "Yes." he whispered.

Betrayal and hatred flared suddenly in Arthur's eyes. "How long? How long have you been lying to me, Merlin? HOW LONG?"

Merlin flinched. "I've had magic since I was born, Arthur."

The Prince's face contorted into a snarl. He strode over to Merlin, who was shaking, and grabbed him by the throat. "Do NOT call me Arthur!" he hissed. "You lost that privilege the moment I learned the truth about you. Traitor." He threw Merlin roughly to the floor.

Merlin made no sound, his eyes still fixed on Arthur.

His blue eyes never left Arthur's gray ones, not even when the sword was thrust through his chest and pulled back out, not even when his last breath left his body and he collapsed in a slowly-spreading pool of his own blood, not even when Arthur called for the guards to take away the 'filthy sorcerer's' corpse.

His eyes never left his Prince's.

Arthur woke with a hoarse scream, sitting up and gazing in horror at the floor at the foot of his bed. The floor where Merlin had lain, his dead eyes filled with unshed tears.

Those eyes remained fixed in Arthur's head, the sorrow, fear and anguish in them striking Arthur like a blow from a hammer.

And the blood, thought Arthur, oh God, the blood. He hugged his knees to his chest and stared at the floor, shuddering.

The floor was clean. Too clean.

"No," he moaned. "No!"

Climbing frantically out of bed, Arthur half-staggered, half-ran to Gaius' chambers. He walked quickly to Merlin's room and flung open the door, half dreading that he would find the room stripped bare.

"Oh, thank God! Thank God!" Arthur whispered, sinking to the floor beside the small pallet. He gently laid his head on his servant's chest, letting the sound of the steady heartbeat calm his own wild one. He gave a sigh of relief, that quickly escalated into quiet broken sobs, muffled in Merlin's woollen nightshirt.

Merlin woke shortly before dawn, only to find that he couldn't move.

"Wha -?" he looked down and saw a blond head on his chest.

"Arthur?" he asked, frowning slightly as he felt the dampness of his nightshirt.

"Arthur!" Merlin gently shook the Prince's shoulder. Arthur lay still. "Arthur, if you don't get off me, so help me I will dump you on the floor."

Arthur's head snapped up. "Merlin?" he said, his eyes still blurry.

"Yes, your Royal Pratness?"

"Merlin!" Exclaimed Arthur, as he roughly pulled the servant into a tight hug. When he let go he looked Merlin in the eye. "Merlin, if you have any secrets, any at all, I would like to know."

Merlin frowned. "I don't know what you're talking about, Sire."

Arthur didn't miss the sudden use of his title. "Merlin, please. I'm asking you as a friend, not a Prince. I'd prefer to hear anything from you, rather than…say, Morgana?"

Merlin paled suddenly, his breathing quick and short. His eyes darted nervously round the room, resting on the closed door. Arthur watched, intrigued as he cupped his hand and spoke softly.

"Fromum feohgiftum on fæder bearme. Fromum feohgiftum!" **(1)**

As a soft blue light filled his palm, Arthur's jaw dropped. "It's beautiful!" he whispered.

"Turn around." said Merlin.

Arthur turned to see a larger duplicate of the light floating by his head.

"Do you recognise it?"

Arthur nodded. "In the cave, that was you, wasn't it? It's always been you."

"I had to protect you."

"You didn't have to." Arthur said quickly.

Merlin shook his head, his worried expression turning fierce. "It's your destiny to become the greatest king Camelot has ever known. It is your destiny as the Once And Future King to unite the land of Albion and to return magic to the land. And it is my destiny to help you do it."

"So that's the only reason you protect me." Arthur couldn't keep the disappointment out of his voice. He'd hoped that Merlin protected him because they were friends, not because of some stupid destiny.

Merlin shook his head again, this time his eyes were wide and shocked. "No, Arthur! I admit, that is the reason I agreed to become your manservant, but I protect you because I want to. My worst fear is your death."

Smiling slightly, Arthur offered his hand to Merlin, "What do you say to being my Official Advisor?"

Merlin gaped. "What?"

"Well, you're already my _unofficial_ advisor, and this way, it won't be as much of a shock when I become King."

"What won't be much of a shock?" Merlin eyed him warily.

"Oh, nothing much." Arthur acted nonchalant. "just announcing you as my Court Sorcerer, my First Councillor and my Official Advisor. Oh and my successor, in the event that I have no children."

Merlin's eyes went wide, his face draining of all colour.

"Merlin?" Arthur looked at his friend in concern. After the dream, he was quite ready to truly acknowledge Merlin as his friend. He didn't know what he'd do if Merlin died, he thought he'd quite probably go insane.

"Arthur, are you -"

"Merlin, if you ask me if I'm sure about this I swear I will use you for target practise for the rest of your life."

Colour returned to Merlin's face and he glared at Arthur. "Prat."

Arthur let out a great bellow of laughter. "Of course, Merlin. Of course."

Arthur caught Merlin's eye across the hall and grinned. Tonight was the night he was announcing Merlin as his Official Advisor.

Clearing his throat, he stood up. The whole hall went silent and stared at him expectantly.

"Yes, Arthur?" his father asked sternly.

"I would like to make an announcement." he said, his voice strong, carrying to every inch of the room. "After much thought, I have decided to announce the man who is to be my Official Advisor in my duties as a Prince, and later, as a King."

Arthur noticed Uther frown. "You have a problem, Father?"

"Not at all, Arthur. Who is the man?"

Arthur shot a small quick smile towards Merlin. "He is a very close friend of mine, a very honourable man. He's not afraid to tell me what he thinks or to point out when I'm making a mistake. He has already been my unofficial advisor for a few years now, and a recent event has made it clear to me that I should announce him properly. Merlin, please step forward."

Uther's jaw dropped as Arthur's servant nervously walked to stand in front of Arthur.

"Merlin, do you swear to tell me the truth and to advise me to the best of your ability in all that I do?"

Giving a shy smile, Merlin nodded. "Yes, Sire."

"Then, as Prince and Heir of Camelot, I name you my Official Advisor, and a trusted member of the royal court."

There were gasps at this statement. To declare Merlin a trusted member of the court gave him the same rights as a knight and Lord. Arthur knew that his father would object, but Arthur felt that Merlin deserved some reward for the amount of times he had risked his life to save Arthur's.

Arthur beamed as he noticed Merlin's eyes shining with gratitude. The young sorcerer lowered his head and as Arthur heard the words "Thank you," echo in his ears, he knew it had been to hide a flash of fiery gold.

Inclining his head towards his friend, Arthur turned his gaze slightly to his father.

"Arthur, may I speak with you alone." The man was fuming.

Arthur gulped. "Yes, Father."

Merlin shot him an encouraging glance as Arthur followed his father into the chambers off the dining hall, and Arthur gave a weak smile in return.

"Arthur, I must confess, I am surprised at your decision." Uther began as soon as the door closed.

Arthur stiffened. "Is it so surprising, Father? Surely you must have guessed by now that I hold Merlin's opinion in higher esteem than anyone else's?"

Arthur's mouth dropped open in shock when Uther chuckled. When was the last time he had heard his father laugh?

"Arthur, I knew that the moment you came to me with the accusation against Valiant. That was on your servant's word, was it not?"

"Indeed, Father, but why did you stay silent?" Arthur frowned.

"To see how much you trusted him." shrugged the King. "You dismissed him, yet he continued to act as your servant, telling me that there was a certain bond between you. And I had noticed that you let him get away with a certain amount of insolence. I wished to see if it was a one-time occurrence or if it happened daily."

Arthur laughed. "Father, the one way I can tell if something's wrong with Merlin, is if he addresses me properly. With respect. Without adding something on the end. If he does that then I know he's either dying or something has upset him greatly."

"I see." Uther frowned in confusion. "Arthur, are you sure about this? Why do you trust the boy so much?"

Arthur took a deep breath. "Because Father, Merlin has killed people to protect me. He could have left anytime he wanted, but he stayed. I have his unwavering loyalty and he has _my_ complete trust."

Uther stood there with a peculiar expression on his face. "Very well, Arthur. Very well."

"MERLIN!"

The skinny manservant skidded breathlessly into the room. "Yes, Arthur?"

Arthur glared at his servant. "What are all these doing on my desk?" He motioned to all the scrolls and letters that were piled haphazardly where he _usually_ ate his dinner. Three guesses who had put them there, with them being piled like _that_.

"Oh, they're just the treaty agreements for Mercia and the surrounding kingdoms that it rules over. Apparently if you beat their champion, you gain rulership over it all. But if you lose, the treaty goes ahead on their terms." Merlin shrugged.

"I thought you were supposed to sort all that!" Arthur glared at Merlin again.

Merlin gave his signature grin. "I have. You just need to sign them and put your seal on them."

Sighing in relief, Arthur sunk into the chair that magically slid across the room towards him. He gave Merlin a nod of thanks, then dipped his quill in the ink. "If I'd have known being a King was so exhausting, I'd have run away and become a peasant."

Merlin laughed. "But remember, Arthur. You have a _destiny_."

As Merlin turned to leave, Arthur picked up a goblet and threw it, without looking, at his friend's head. He knew that Merlin had dodged it without looking.

"You know that magic is legal, right? You could have levitated it or something." he remarked, as Merlin opened the door. "Or are you just too lazy?"

"I'm not as lazy as you! Alright, I'm going now!" Merlin squeaked as Arthur raised another goblet. "Prat!" He called over his shoulder as he left.

"Idiot."

"Clotpole!"

"That's not a real word!"

Arthur growled as Merlin's laughter echoed down the corridor. Sometimes he wondered what possessed him to name Merlin as both his Advisor _and_ First Councillor, then his gaze wandered to the bed and he remembered. A dream. A dream where Arthur lost his best friend.

And because of that dream, Arthur was determined to keep his best friend for as long as possible, damn the consequences.

Although, he thought, if those consequences included more tables full of treaties, he was going to wring his best friend's scrawny neck.

Fin.

**(1) **With his father's friends by fee and gift (Wiki translation)


End file.
